Bulgaria
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We are able to host you if you are stuck in Bulgaria due to the covid19 restrictions.
I am a retired car mechanic from Iceland. My wife and I bought an old house in Bulgaria in 2018 to retire in the sun. My wife is originally from Scotland and has not fully retired yet so she is jumping back and forth from Bulgaria to Iceland. Our 2 grown sons currently live in Iceland.
Both my wife and I speak fluent English and Icelandic, her Icelandic needs improving :) I have a lot of experience with house renovation but my bad health is slowing the process.
The house needed total renovation. It is now about 2/3rds finished. I've been working on it in between illnesses. I had to retire early due to ill health. So far we have put in new windows, most floors, a new roof and new electricity and 4 rooms are already finished. There is still much to be done. Sometimes we are able to get some locals to help but many times I am working alone. I would like the house to be finished this year and so would be very grateful to have someone to help out.
Pauline is building a platform to help women thrive through their menopause and beyond. She is using Kajabi to host her website and is making an online course. She is also hosting the Menopause Morph Podcast, so any help with such online stuff would be appreciated. Pauline is not a techie and is always looking to learn new tech things from our workaway visitors. One of the workwayers taught her how to use Instagram :)
There is also a big garden, so if you are interested in doing gardening chores that is possible. We have been working on landscaping the garden but neither of us has much experience with gardening.
We are quite interested in hosting Bulgarians so that we can learn more of the language :)
We have a cat but he is an outdoor guy. Recently we adopted a little kitten as well.
Language practice
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
You can improve your English, and even learn Icelandic :) We live near Plovdiv which was the European city of culture in 2019. Both Plovdiv and Hisaria (Our town of Kaloyanovo is between them, 30 min apart) have vast Roman remains and Hisaria has a lot of hot natural spring water, so we try to go to one of the spa's there every week. You are welcome to come with us to that.
My wife Pauline is an oil painter and one of the rooms upstairs will eventually be her art studio. You are welcome to try your hand at painting and if she is here, she will be more than happy to teach you.
Assisting with building renovation project i.e. laying floor tiles, painting walls, cement cutting, brick laying, fitting shower, kitchen units etc. All these skills can be taught to you. Planting trees, landscaping the garden, these we are learning ourselves. If you have experience in gardening, perhaps you can teach us :)
Pauline is working on making an online course to help women thrive through their menopause and beyond. If you have any computer tech skills or marketing or social media skill that would be greatly appreciated :)
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Icelandic: Fluent
This host offers a language exchange
We want to learn more Bulgarian as we intend to live in Bulgaria for the rest of our lives. We can offer lessons in Icelandic and English. We don't want to have to sit in "class" but would prefer to learn in a more natural way.
Large room on ground floor of the house. It contains 2 beds 120cm wide x 190cm. We used a bed the same size, so it is possible to have 2 people in each one. We have had a family with 2 children in this room. There is also another bedroom/office upstairs with 1 single electric bed 90 x 200cm. So we are open to having a single person or a couple. In the photos you can see the room on the ground floor, the one with a yellow wall and the room upstairs with a single bed is still not completely renovated and also doubles as my office sometimes.
We will provide all meals (sometimes we go to restaurants) and we currently have 4 vehicles but we intend to sell the big van, that we took here with our furniture. So it will be possible to borrow one of the vehicles if you wish to travel around Bulgaria on your days off.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
We have good WiFi and a desk for working online. We have often had digital nomads with us. We are very flexible for work times.
Any size. You can park in our driveway/garden or out on the street, whichever you wish.
We have cats but you are welcome to come with a dog or cat if you wish. If it is something exotic like a snake, please let us know first :)
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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Accuracy of profile:
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Cultural exchange:
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